Loophole
by Damonficgirl
Summary: Ease your post-Christmas episode frustrations with a little delena Xmas fic. No need to let a silly little sire bond get in the way people!


**Loophole**

_**Post S4x09 'O Come All Ye Faithful' (spoiler warning if you haven't seen it).  
**_

The moment between waking and opening his eyes was his happiest – it was the moment when for a moment he could pretend she was beside him, and then his eyes opened and Damon new that three things were undeniably and horribly true – 1. Elena was not there. 2. He was at the Gilbert Lake House with Jeremy. 3. It was Christmas Day.

"Merry Freaking Christmas," Damon muttered to himself as he got out of bed. He didn't even bother with a shower before pulling on clean clothes, who did he have to get dressed up for anyway?

"Morning," he grunted at Jeremy pushed open the younger Gilbert's door.

"What?" Jeremy grunted back, more alert than his pre-hunter days, but cranky none the less.

"Feel like killing me?"

"Not anymore than usual."

"Good. Then don't. Say here. Be a good boy. I'm going out."

"What about training?"

"It's Christmas, it's a public holiday y'know. Enjoy. Elena and Bonnie are coming to check up on you later anyway, I should probably keep my distance."

"Yeah, good idea," Jeremy agreed, still worried about controlling himself around his sister but relieved that Damon at least would be out of his way. It was harder to fight the hunter urges around Damon because after all, he had wanted to kill Damon plenty of times _before_ he became a hunter.

Damon would never admit consciously how relieved he was to see The Mystic Grill was open for Christmas trading. He ordered two scotches despite the fact it wasn't even noon, downed the first and then with a nod and a toast to the fallen friend he still imagined beside him, took the second in hand and sent it after the first before ordering another two.

"You alright there?" Matt asked, he didn't want to ask, it was Damon after all, but four scotches in five minutes was a cry for help in anyone's books, vampire or human.

"Working Christmas?" Damon asked Matt, evading the question. "And I thought I was pathetic."

"You are," Matt jeered, already regretting his impulse to show any sympathy for the blood sucker. "I need the extra pay, but I'm heading around to Elena's later."

"How cozy," Damon remarked dryly.

"We're getting together, or at least most of us, Tyler's still pissed as hell and mad about his Mum and Caroline's trying to get through to him but the rest of us are having dinner together, seeing as most of us don't have families anymore and you can't have much of a Christmas by yourself."

"Touché. I guess my invitation got lost in the mail."

"It's kind of hard to feel sorry for you after what you did."

"Haven't you got tables to bus?" Damon shot Matt his best glowering don't-push-me-boy glare and the conversation was over, leaving Damon staring at his scotch.

"Scotch for breakfast? Really?" Her unmistakable voice that sounded like her smile came out of nowhere. He was still getting used to that – all part of her transition to being a vampire. Despite her derisive smirk Elena picked up the second and drank it as quickly as Damon had.

"You're not supposed to be here," Damon warned. He could practically feel Matt's eyes watching them from across the bar, ready to report this little indiscretion back to Stefan and his little Scooby gang.

"I found a loophole. You send me away, you didn't say for how long. You didn't say 'never see me again' so I've followed your instructions, I've kept my distance, but I knew you'd be here. I don't know how, but I did."

"It's the sire bond. You don't know me Elena, if you knew me you'd hate me."

"Damon how many times did I find you in this bar before I was a vampire? It didn't take a mystical force for me to find you here. I know you're lonely. Stefan's not talking to you. You and Jeremy aren't exactly best buddies. It's Christmas, you can't want to be alone."

"Well we don't always get what we want do we?"

"Come and join us for Christmas dinner," she insisted taking his hand in hers and giving him the full effect of her deep brown eyes. His other hand clutched his empty glass so hard it almost broke in a poor effort to diffuse the compulsion to give in to their mutual desire.

"Stefan would just love that wouldn't he?"

"Stefan needs to grow up."

"I hurt him Elena, and I disappointed him."

"Damon he would have been just as angry if I'd slept with you without the sire bond or anyone else for that matter. Even when I loved Stefan I knew he could be a little..."

"Insecure? Jealous? Arrogant?"

"Possessive."

"Damon now that I am what I am, we could have centuries together, you and me and Stefan, Stefan needs to get over this, rivalry. I'm not his. He doesn't own me."

"Elena we both know what can happen if my little brother loses his temper. If me not being around is the only way he can handle the whole sire-bond thing without turning into Ripper-Stefan than that's what I've got to do."

"Not today it's not." Elena took Damon's hand in hers and felt the immediate rush of desire, happiness and satisfaction. It was like he completed her. She knew part of that was the sire bond working it's magic, but she also knew that even before the bond she had found his presence to be comforting – at least when he wasn't being a total ass it was. "I spoke to Stefan, I told him I'm calling a truce. Come to dinner. You don't even have to talk to him but for one hour I just want to pretend that we're all still friends and that its actually possible to be happy. Give me this? For Christmas?" And Elena gave him that look, the longing little girl look that melted him every time.

"Okay but if anyone gets killed I'm going to say I told you so," Damon smirked.

"Yes," Elena grinned. "Thank you," she added seriously, and very deliberately she reached up and placed a kiss on Damon's cheek.

Damon closed his eyes for a moment, searching for his self-control and then shifted gear evasively, "Do you even know how to cook a turkey?"

"No, and Caroline won't answer my calls."

"So really you just need me to cook?"

"Maybe a little," Elena grinned. She knew she'd won him over, her blood rushed with the satisfaction of having him close, and her heart warmed with the relief of knowing he wouldn't be alone. Maybe they could still find a way to make it work.


End file.
